The Program Development Core B focuses on areas of increased scientific emphasis at CDS. The proposed P30 project will facilitate that development. We describe pilot projects that would be developed preparatory to initiating new research activities. These projects are of several types, i.e., conferences to stimulate specific areas of research; analytic projects; and projects to assess the quality of data. Seven projects are described. These projects were, in part, formulated late in the P20 Center Grant and will require the first two years of the P30 project to implement and complete. The first is a conference to foster use of the 1982-199 NLTCS data set. Economic, health service, demographic and other issues will be addressed and will be the potential of the NLTCS for biodemographic studies using risk factor nutrition, and DNA data. The second is a study of effects of accumulated stress on the physical well being of elderly persons. The third is a study of autopsy results to determine how well they correspond to diagnostic evaluations made with on-invasive diagnostic procedures (e.g., CatScan; MRI). The fourth is a study to link multiple cause data to deaths observed in the NLTCS (projected to be 21,000 by 1999). The fifth is a study to develop models to predict the costs of illnesses using the 1982 to 1992 NLTCS data linked to Medicare Part A and B records. The sixth is a study to assess biodemographic methods for analysis of the population distribution of biological and genetic traits for specific chronic diseases. . The seventh study assesses direct and indirect effects of social factors on disablement processes. . In addition, funds are requested for a new junior faculty member to be hired to help in cost of illness model construction. Finally, several topical working groups are proposed.